Zimbabwe's food ban has put the future of South Africa's border town Musina in jeopardy. Zimbabwe has been flooded with protests, violence and chaos at the border post separating the country with South Africa over the recently imposed food bans between the two countries.
This led to the closure of the Beit Bridge Border Control for the first time since it was set up in 1929, a closure that was widely felt in South Africa’s town of Musina who are the major benefiters of the $4-billion-a-year trade between the two countries.
Businesses opened up shop for the first time on Friday 8 July since the imposed ban. This could be short-lived because of the planned shutdown on Wednesday, July 13 and Thursday, July 14.
Some Zimbabwean businessmen braved the border to go buy a few commodities in Musina. They weren’t buying as much as they normally would, fearing their goods would be seized by officials at the border.
Others that had the same fear opted to make their own way across illegally. Fearing for their safety, identities were guarded.
“I’m here to buy bananas and tomatoes which I will sell in Zimbabwe, but I’ll make a channel to go through because they won’t allow us to cross at the border,” says a Zimbabwean on a bike who asked to remain anonymous.
“We are not going to cross at the border, we will go back over the river,” said another who had stacked up groceries on a van.
